Running, Hiding, Chasing, Finding
by PowerOfFail
Summary: Severus and Lily are out in a winter day just playing hide and seek, and despite the cold, Severus is happy to compete in the game. Unfortunately for him, Lily is great at finding someone when they hide.


His pounding feet against the ground were easily muted by the fluffy ankle-deep snow that cracked softly with every step he took. His breath formed thick warm clouds in front of his face, though he had no time to relish the warmth as he sprinted through his self-made fog, too busy focusing on finding a safe hiding place; none of the tall brown trees could provide an adequate hiding place, stripped of their leafy foliage in the cold English winter as they were.

Skirting the corner, he rushed up the street, praying he wouldn't slip on any hidden ice on the grey pavement. He could feel a stitch in his side, and it was getting harder to breathe with every bound he took, but he couldn't stop, he had to keep going.

His throat burned with the force of cold air rushing in and out of his lungs and his muscles ached as he forced himself to sprint faster, knowing that time was almost up. He could hear the counting in his head, hear the ticking of the clock as the seconds wound down, and he still hadn't found a hiding place.

Feeling the need to confuse his chaser and sure that he was going to be caught if he didn't act soon, he rerouted himself and hurried back to the frozen park, hoping that his chaser had already left in search of him.

Pausing only for a second to check that no cars were coming, he jogged across the street and entered the park, glancing wildly around, hoping to find even a single bush that had any leaves left that he could use for cover.

Noticing that the playground equipment was empty of other people, he ran over to them as fast as he could, tricking himself into thinking he knew of a cozy place to snuggly hide in while his chaser searched the quiet snow-covered city for him.

When he reached the equipment and disappointedly realized that there was no hiding place, it was then that he thought of the creek that wound behind the park. It was frozen over now, but it was hidden by trees and would be a great place to lie low.

Sprinting to the tree line, he slipped behind the tallest tree he could find, and began to tread the forgotten world, ignoring the pangs his frozen feet sent in protest. The snow here was as high as halfway up his shins, it was clear that no animals had come this way.

As quietly as he could, he dodged between trees, looking for any niches free of animals that he could curl up in. His luck was out, and when he came to the creek he was out of ideas. The only options he had left was to keep going forward and attempt to cross the frozen water that was sure to break or to turn back and get caught.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to push onward. However, his wits hadn't deserted him and he began to wander the bank, suspecting that sooner or later he could come across a tree wide enough and long enough that he could travel over the perilous ice.

Sure enough, just meters down he came across such a tree. It had fallen long ago and its roots stuck up out of the snow, providing excellent hand-grips and foot-holds for someone to use to climb onto its wide trunk.

Pulling himself onto the tree, he found that the wood was deceivingly slippery. It had looked rough like normal bark, but when he placed his hands on it, he found that ice had covered and crystallized on the old wood.

But that didn't stop him, and he began to carefully make his way across the tree. It took several minutes, but he successfully made his way across, and just as he reached the other side, he could hear crashing of a careless predator on the opposite bank from which he had just come.

Thinking quickly, he dove behind the first large tree he saw and crouched there, rubbing his hands together and waiting. He blew softly onto his numb fingers to warm them up as he waited to be found, knowing that he would get caught, it was inevitable. He could never win.

Before long he could hear the soft crunching of someone walking in previously undisturbed snow, and he held his breath. The crunching came closer, and he knew he would be found, but now it was just a matter of how long he could remain undetected.

It was then that he sneezed.

The sound echoed across the frozen world, bouncing off the trees and giving away his position. Laughter answered the sneeze, sounding oddly out of place a world so tightly held by unforgiving winter.

"Sev, I found you!" A young girl called cheerfully as she poked her head out from behind the tree, her red hair so bright that it looked like a flame against all the white snow.

Severus groaned and said, "And I almost won, too!"

Lily gave another cheerful laugh and said, "Maybe you will next time, Sev, but you're still It now!"

"You _always_ say that and then beat me!" Severus complained as he pushed himself off the cold ground.

Lily just smiled as she took his hand and began to drag him back to the park. Soon she began skipping merrily and said thoughtfully, "Maybe if you'd remember home base is the swing set, you won't keep losing. You always seem to get back to the park before I can find you."

"You never said that was home base!" Severus exclaimed indignantly while Lily laughed again and replied, "I did, you weren't listening!"

Severus let out a frustrated huff and watched the cloud he had created rise and disappear in the tree branches, sour that he had lost yet again. He glanced at his companion and said, "I'll get you yet!"

"Not if you can't catch me!" Lily teased, and without another word she tore off thru the trees, scrambling across the old tree and over the creek, laughing joyfully all the way. Severus didn't miss a beat and chased after her, a smile lighting his face, determined to win for once. It was a good day despite the cold because, after all, it was a day spent with his best friend.

* * *

**A/N:: I don't own Harry Potter!!!!  
**I also haven't played Hide-and-Seek in a while either, huh. It's alright, that was one game I never liked. Now, tag on the other hand...  
Anyway, so, I don't actually know why I wrote this, but I thought it was a nice idea, kinda kiddish, kind of humerous at the end, and I have too many serious fics, so here's a light-hearted one.  
Hum dee dum. Not sure what else to say. Sooo, seeya.  
Thought of the Day: YEAH, WE WON HOMECOMING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN _DECADES_!!


End file.
